Electrode for arc welding



May 21, 1935. A. R. NYQUIST ELECTRODE FOR ARC WELDING Filed Oct. 3, 1932 Jmnmtou .14 u ya 5?.

Patented May 21, 1935 2,001,848

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRODE FOB ARC WELDING August It. Nyquist, Roseau, Minn.

Application October 3, 1932, Serial No. 636,041

Claims. (Cl. 219-8) My invention relates to the art of electric arc ited any faster than the outside envelope is welding and it particularly has for an object to melted, thus the deposit of the material from the provide an electrode which w give ry stable electrode is retarded. A greater amount of ourarc and by which the arc may be more readily rent will thus pass through the electrode for the 5 controlled. amount of deposit that is made, thereby making 5 Further, it is an object to provide an electrode a very stable arc and givingmore time for heatof such construction and composition that the 8 he base at p p y, insuring fusion arc will, in a measure, be protected and rendered or greatly aiding the proper fusion. (Should the more uniform than by the employment of those material be deposited faster than would permit 10 electrodes now commonly used for the purpose. the are properly to heat the base material the 10 Further, it is an object to provide an electrode bond between the base material and the deposited composed of a plurality of concentric bodies as material will be poor and the weld will be wortha core and its sheath, in which the body having less. A150, if the material is deposited tOO fast the best electrical conductivity will be located across the are it will be so dense in the are that at the inside and the body having the poorest the current will be conducted by it, thus makl5 electrical conductivity will be located on the outin a wil n n rollable are, all f which objecside whereby the core will melt faster than the tionable features are overcome by y p oved envelope, and the envelope will serve as a tube electrode). or guide for the material passing over with the Further it is to be understood that when it are, is desired to have an alloy deposit and when the 20 In its more specific nature the invention proalloy has two materials composing it, one being vides an electrode having a core of copper wire a better conductor than the other, by using the or rod (or a core of other suitable low electrical best conducting material for the core and the resistance material) covered by a sheath or enmaterial having the greatest electrical resistance velope of steel, nickel or other suitable substance for the jacket, the electrical arc will be stabilized 25 of higher resistance than that of the core. corresponding to the difference in the conductiv- Other objects will in part be obvious and in ity of the materials composing the electrode.

part be pointed out hereinafter. In most cases there will have to be used a In the drawing: suitable flux in connection with the electrode,

Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section of a however there are materials where a flux would 30 portion of an electrode embodying my invention not be required, but where there is any copper in its simplest form. in the makeup of the electrode flux will have Figure 2 is a similar view of the electrode coated to be used. In the welding of cast iron, copper with a suitable flux. is a very important material by reason of its Figures 3, 4 and 5 are cross sections of modiflyielding qualities, for such castings as cylinders, 36

' cations hereinafter referred to. or any casting where contraction and expansion In its preferred form the improved electrode come into play. It is common knowledge that comprises a core i of copper covered by a sheath castings and nearly all materials in being heated or envelope of steel 2 (or nickel or other suitable will expand or contract in cooling, therefore it 40 metal) and for some purposes a further coverwill be understood that if we should weld in the 40 ing of a suitable flux 3. center of a casting, leaving the outside cold, and Experience has shown that copper has about if the outside would not yield then the heated sixtimes the electrical conductivity of steel so center would have to contract or upset in itself. by using a steel jacket on a copper core the cur- However, in cooling, the heated metal would still rent will take the path of least resistance which contract and if the nature of the material is to 45 is the central core of copper and will be concenbe such that it could not yield it will rupture either trated in the center of the arc, the sheath of the deposit or the casting. steel acting somewhat as a pipe or conduit for Pure copper is an ideal metal for cold welding the arc and the melting copper passingover with of cast iron. However, pure copper cannot be it to the piece to be welded. successfully deposited through the are for the 50 The greatest heat will also be located in the reason that pure copper would deposit too fast, center so the steel sheath will melt slower than not producing heat enough to melt the base metal, the copper core, thereby providing a molten crasince this metal would deposit so fast that the ter in the central part of the electrode. base material would not have time to melt and However, the molten center cannot be deposproperly fuse with the deposited material. Further, by using plain copper wire as an electrode, the arc would be very wild and practically impossible to control. I correct this condition by the use of a suitable sheath over the copper rod, preferably steel, which in turn is properly flux coated, and this combination gives complete control of the are, as has been already herein ex- I plained. This does not in any sense produce an alloy, as the oxygen in the copper reacts on the steel and consumes it. I have given this combination the name of copper-arc electrodes.

A suitable flux 3 to use with my rod may be made by taking approximately equal parts of magnesium sulphate and bicarbonate of soda and. after separately dissolving same in hot water, bring the solutions together to produce a compound which I shall, for convenience, hereinafter refer to as basic compound.

To about 28% (variable limit 20% to 30%) of basic compound I add separately hot aqueous solutions of potassium nitrate 36% (variable limit 20% to 40%), borax (variable limit 5% to and then add calcium carbonate 26% (variable limit to 45%). Sufficient of the magnesium sulphate and sodium bicarbonate are used so as to liberate all the carbon dioxide present, i. e. suflicient of each to neutralize one another. Then the solutions of potassium nitrate and borax are added and finally the calcium carbonate is added. Ihis forms a paste which is used to coat the electrode and serve as the flux.

In Figures 3, 4 and 5 I have illustrated modifications of my invention.

As shown in Figure 3 the core is composed of two metals ia.l:r, while the sheath or case is composed of only one metal 2x covered by the flux 33:. In this arrangement the metal la is the one having the greatest conductivity and the metal 21: has the least conductivity. For instance the metal la may be copper containing a filling la: of cast iron while the metal 2:: may be cast iron or steel.

As shown in Figure 4 the core is composed of a metal |yly in a plurality of layers, which metal is of good conductivity, while the sheath or case is composed of a metal 2y of poor conductivity covered by the flux 3y.

As shown in Figure 5 the core 12 of metal of good conductivity is encased in a sheath 22 composed of a plurality of layers of metal of pool conductivity. An essential feature or the invention is that the sheath or jacket, regardless of the number of layers of the same or diflerent metals used in its make-up, shall be of relatively poor conductivity while the core, regardless of the number of layers 01. the same or diflerent metals used, shall be of relatively good conductivity.

The number of materials used in the make-up of the rod may be varied as desired to give the alloy desired.

From the foregoing it is thought my invention and its advantages will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

electrode, but what I claim is:

1. An electrode comprising a core of material having relatively good electrical conductivity and surrounded by a sheath of material having relatively poor electrical conductivity, and a flux combined with the aforesaid structure as an envelope therefor and composed of basic compound, potassium nitrate, borax, and calcium carbonate in substantially the proportions stated.

2. An electrode comprising a metallic core having a high degree of electrical conductivity surrounded by a metallic sheath having a low degree of electrical conductivity, and a flux combined with the aforesaid structure as an envelope therefor and composed or "basic compound, potassium nitrate, borax, and calcium carbonate in substantially the proportions stated.

3. An electrode composed of a metal core and a metal sheath enveloping the core, the core having greater electrical conductivity than the sheath, and a flux combined with the aforesaid structure as an envelope therefor and composed of basic compound, potassium nitrate, borax. and calcium carbonate in substantially the proportions stated.

4. An electrode for electric arc welding of cast iron comprising a copper core surrounded by a steel sheath.

5. An electrode composed of a copper core and a steel sheath surrounding the copper core and an envelope composed of a suitable flux around the steel sheath.

AUGUST R. NYQUIST. 

